How much Salary we need living in Malaysia

Majority of Malaysians are known to earn about RM2,000 every month. Executives can earn up to RM4,000 every month. But is it really sufficient to survive living in Malaysia.

We just roughly count how much we need to spend every single month based on having a family of 2 kids.

Food = RM 5 per meal x 3 meals per day x 4 person x 30 days = RM1,800

Car = RM40,000 car in 9 years = RM520 

House = RM652

Petrol, Tol & Parking = RM250

Internet = RM50

Phone Bill = RM100 for two person

Insurance = RM600

Basic living expenses already reach RM3,972 and imagine if your wife is not working, even if you earn RM5,000 a month it wont be sufficient as you will only get RM4,400 after minusing EPF and balance of RM400 for remaining things like medical, savings, school fees, travelling, celebration, gift, contribution to parents, books and magazines, astro, clothes, and others. 

Forget about savings, how you gonna save to get another child? 

Perhaps you people shall consider getting married only at age of 35 when you have accumulated more moneys while you're single so that you can afford to raise a family. 

Cost of Having a Baby

I have few friends who are curious about how much i have to spend to have a baby.

Here I will briefly explain what are those monthly expenses like. I might missed out on some one-off payment products in case i forgotten.

I will categorized it by during pregnancy and after giving birth.

During Pregnancy

1. Monthly Checkup: RM75 per month for the first 7 months.

2. Biweekly Checkup: RM75 per two weeks for the final 2 months. 

Total: Approximately RM825 in total

Ps. You can choose cheaper alternatives by visiting the government hospital which is free but i have friends who have visited there, and they complained about not getting any scanning on the baby, they check your baby condition using hearing of the heart beats and size of your tummy measured by measuring tape. This is the reason why many people have been giving birth to physically or mentally disabled children.

Giving Birth

This cost will be depending on whether your wife prefer to give birth by C-section or natural birth. The cost is double for C-section for most of the hospitals. 

For my case, it was RM3,000 in total. But supposed to be RM2,400 for natural birth and another RM600 for additional surgery for some reason. 

Once your wife is back home, you will need to hire a confinement lady to take care of your baby and your wife for one month while she rest after going through birth giving process. Cost of confinement lady is at RM3,500 based on market price. Double for those who give birth during Chinese New Year (so remember to calculate nicely before giving birth! Haha).

While your wife is going through confinement period, she needs a lot of healthy foods to help her to regain her health quicker. Cost of these foods and medication is approximately RM1,500.

In total: During give birth can fetch up to RM7,500.

One-Off Baby Products (Estimation)

1. Baby Bed = RM300 (cheap ones)

2. Mattress = RM50

3. Pillows = RM100

4. Bed sheet = RM50

5. Tilam = RM100

6. Clothes = RM500 (including pyjamas)

7. Pacifiers = RM30

8. Milk Bottles = RM60

9. Bathing Needs = RM200 (Gel, powder, cream, shampoo, bath tub)

10. Handkerchief = RM60

11. Towel = RM20

12. Stroller = RM200 cheap ones, RM1000 for good ones, Mine is RM2,000.

13. Mum's Need = RM300 (like nursing pad and etc)

14. Car Seat = RM500

Total = RM2,000 - RM3,000

Monthly Expenses

1. Monthly Injection = RM250 (Free if government hospital) up to 3 years old

2. Pampers = RM100 per month

3. Milk Powder = RM250 (I give Enfalac A+), Normal milk powder probably cost around RM160 per month.

4. Medical Checkup = RM35 per visit depending on what sickness

5. Study Saving / Insurance = Optional RM150 per month

Monthly can cost up to RM700 - RM800 excluding any other purchases like toys, clothes and etc.

Total Spending

During Pregnancy = RM875

Giving Birth = RM7,500 (natural birth)

Baby Products = RM2,500

Total = RM10,875

Resigned!

Officially tendered the awkward (resignation) letter on the 12th March. Decided to move on to a better company for better career opportunity. No doubt that GCH Retail is a good company which is growing every year, however in terms of career wise it doesnt convince me at all. 

Probably due to the lack of opportunities in the work that i was assigned to. With so little work being given to me, most people will be pleased and glad to get such job. They call it Gaji Buta but you wont know how it feels like until you get such job. Somehow you will feel like under utilised and time passes really slow when you have nothing to do.

For my case, it is even worse as this company do not allow you to surf many websites, for instances, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and all Games website or even Forums. So imagine you have 8 hours everyday and you only have 1-2 hours of work to do. What you gonna do the remaining 6 hours? It is okay if it is just for few days but not months.

My next company will be at Auric Chun Yip. It is located somewhere nearby my current office. Better career opportunities (Finger crossed) and much higher pay compare to existing company. They are offering me almost 30% increase based on what im getting currently. And I couldnt say no as financially i have been struggling for the process of building a family. 

I hope my immediate superior will understand the reason im leaving.